Statement of policy

It shall be the policy of the United States— (1) to collect, analyze, and preserve evidence and information relating to possible war crimes and atrocities committed during the Israel-Hamas war that began on October 7, 2023, for use in domestic, foreign, and international courts and tribunals prosecuting those responsible for such crimes, including evidence and information relating to the attacks on January 29, 2024, which caused the deaths of Hind Rajab, members of her family, and two Palestine Red Crescent paramedics; (2) to continue efforts to identify, deter, and pursue accountability for war crimes and other atrocities committed in conflicts around the world, including through the investigation and prosecution of crimes by the Department of Justice under section 2441 of title 18, United States Code (commonly known as the War Crimes Act of 1996); (3) to consider the willful killing of protected persons, including civilians and medical personnel, as grave breaches amounting to war crimes and, if systemic, crimes against humanity; (4) to hold perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity accountable for their crimes; (5) to uphold the Convention (IV) relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, done at Geneva August 12, 1949 (commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention), to which the United States is party and has ratified, including article 3, which states that persons taking no active part in hostilities shall be treated humanely and should not be subject to violence to life and person; (6) to uphold article 35 of the Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field, done at Geneva August 12, 1949, to which the United States is a party and has ratified, requires transports of wounded and sick or of medical equipment to be respected and protected in the same way as mobile medical units; and (7) for the Attorney General, with input from the heads of other Federal agencies, as appropriate, to investigate any credible allegations of war crimes committed by United States citizens in Gaza, in accordance with section 2441 of title 18, United States Code.